Hone Taiapa, Date of Birth, Date of Death

Hone Taiapa

New Zealand sculptor

Date of Birth: 10-Aug-1911

Date of Death: 10-May-1979

Profession: carpenter, sculptor, wood carver

Nationality: New Zealand

Zodiac Sign: Leo

Hone Te Kauru Taiapa (10 August 1911 – 10 May 1979), also known as John Taiapa, was a Maori wood carver and carpenter of Ngati Porou.
He was the younger brother of master Maori carver Pine Taiapa.
The two brothers worked closely with politician Sir Apirana Ngata on reintroducing Maori sculpture to the country after World War II.
Both men, for example, demonstrated Maori carving skills by carving traditional homes on the North Island in marae as part of a programme by the New Zealand Department of Education to educate teachers to reintroduce Maori arts to school children.
New Zealand poet Hone Tuwhare included a poem about the wood carver, "On a theme by Hone Taiapa," in his 1973 collection Something Nothing.He led the team of carvers that carved most of the pieces for Arohanui ki te Tangata in Lower Hutt, which was opened in September 1960.In the 1960 Queen's Birthday Honours, Taiapa was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire for cultural services to the Maori people, especially in the field of wood carving.He was the head of the New Zealand Maori Arts and Crafts Institute Carving School at Whakarewarewa, Rotorua when it opened in 1967.